posted
My mom's Lyme's doctor has put her on Minocycline which she has been on for almost a month and wants to extend it for another month. Her first lymes test came out with three positives and one indeterminate. The doctor repeated the Lymes test and it was all neg. except for one indeterminate so she repeated the test again and we are waiting for the results. Her Rheumatologist and primary doctor expressed concern because they said staying on an antibiotic for any extended period of time can have very harmful effects. One being the striping of the good bacteria which can lead to infection. She is taking Probiotic but they said it isn't enough. She is also going to begin taking Celebrex for her RA. Any insight on taking the Minocycline for two months?
Posts: 4 | From New Jersey | Registered: Nov 2008
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
Well, there's people on here that have been on antibiotics for 5-8 years STRAIGHT!! I'm guessing they will state more than a month if OK. The great Dr. B put patients on IV Abx for a year+ in some stories I've read.
I am guessing most will say it's OK if you eat correct, take probiotics, anti-fungal meds, etc. Some move over to herbs when they feel better for maintenance.
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
Intestinal flora/stripping of good gut bacteria/yeast:
In addition to the probiotics, do the doctors have her on Nystatin or something similar? perhaps her LLMD does.
Like Seekhelp stated,
there are people taking 3+ abx simultaneously for periods of months to many, many years;
eat correctly (no sugars/starches) as a preventative measure;
continue with Probiotics, etc.
Your mum needs to get the treatment needed as deemed by her lyme doctor (and herself).
Rheumatoligists and PCPs are not lyme doctors.
Abx are sometimes the thin lyme line-- all that keeps some of us semi-functional--the alternative being very ugly.
You may also start hearing concerns about creating "drug resistant bacteria" because of antibiotic use.
These sort of statements stem mostly from ignorance about lyme & its treatment, lack of a concensus re: treatment protocol for lyme, and the politics surrounding treatment.
I had acne when I was younger and was prescribed abx for a year. The dermatologist didn't seem to share these concerns for acne treatment.
One thing about your post that is a bit troubling is that they lyme doc(?) seems to be focusing on test results, at least the way you expressed it......
Posts: 571 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Oct 2008
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gemofnj
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15551
posted
jp,
If she takes a refrigerated probiotic, one that is very high in cultures and high in strains, and replenishes often she will be ok.
I have been on abx for 8 months and have no stomach issues because I replenish my good bacteria often and especially at bedtime.
I also take several different brands in one day and save the most potent one for bedtime.
The ones I have used successfully are at different intervals in my protocol are these:
VSL# 3 - 225 billion cultures/8 strains
Iflora from Sedona Labs - 20 billion cultures/10 strains
Renew Life Ultra Flora CRITICAL CARE - 50 billion cultures/8 strain
Theralac - 20 billion culture/ 5 strain
The are all refrigerated antibiotics which means they will die if left out at room temperature and be of no value.
In addition to the good flora she would need to take an herbal antifungal to avoid yeast getting out of control.
Those herbs would be oregano, olive leaf, grapefruit seed, garlic, and many others.
I am very concerned that your LLMD is not really a lyme literate doctor. Most recommend very slow therapy on antibiotics because the lyme bacteria reproduces every 28 days.
It is only in the reproduction period it can be eradicated, and that is why it takes so many months.
If your mom is undertreated, she will relapse for sure!
Here is a link from the top lyme doctor in the USA. Most LLMD's follow his guidelines. Please print and save for future reference.
posted
I've been on heavy-duty antibiotics for 18 months and have had no major issues. Some people can have issues such as developing C. diff or yeast infections but the majority of people don't have any real issues. There are of course the direct side-effects of the antibiotics (e.g. nausea) but usually those disappear within a couple of hours of taking the medication. I'd rather risk the possible side-effects of long-term antibiotics versus dealing with this awful disease.
I noticed you indicated your mom has RA. I don't know exactly what your mom's medical history is or who her LLMD is but just wanted to mention that people with RA can sometimes have a false positive lyme test. I'm not suggesting she doesn't have lyme, just wanted to put that data on the table. However, many people diagnosed with RA may really have lyme....
Posts: 561 | From mass | Registered: Jul 2007
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posted
Minocycline is prescribed long-term for acne all the time.
Posts: 4 | From RI | Registered: Mar 2004
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5dana8
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7935
posted
The doctors told me 22 when I first got sick with lyme to stop taking the antibitoics. And like a good little patient I did.
That is why after many years of suffering I am still sick today, and have lost so much of my life to this horrible disease. If I had longer treatment in the beginning & was trated for co-infections as well my life may have been different.
I was on 13 years of continous abx for lyme and I am still alive Just make sure she is taking a good refrigerated pro-biotic ( multi-strain ) and seperates in 2 hours away from her abx.
It might be a good idea to look into a LLMD for now.
Hope your mom can feel better soon
* None of the above is medical advice. Just my 2 cents
-------------------- 5dana8 Posts: 4432 | From some where over the rainbow | Registered: Sep 2005
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adamm
Unregistered
posted
Yeah--that's what I was going to say. Acne patients can spend really long periods of time on the stuff. Just make sure she gets a probiotic and google the possible ADR's.
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The great Dr. B put patients on IV Abx for a year+ in some stories I've read. 
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